IAEA Report: Iran Has Started Collecting Centrifuges

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report indicates that Iran has halted part of its nuclear activities in accordance with the Vienna nuclear agreement. This report, which Agence France-Presse obtained on Wednesday, November 18, states that Iran has begun the process of collecting centrifuges and related facilities at the Natanz and Fordow centers. According to the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers reached in Vienna this summer, Iran must significantly limit its nuclear program, which includes the centrifuges it possesses. Accordingly, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced on November 2 that Tehran's program to reduce the number of centrifuges at the Natanz facility has begun, which faced protests from some representatives opposed to the nuclear agreement in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who described it as a 'hasty' action and a 'threat to national interests.' Nevertheless, the government of Hassan Rouhani announced that the collection of centrifuges would continue. The United Nations monitoring agency's report now confirms the statements of Iranian officials in this regard, although it indicates that Tehran is still far from fully implementing its commitments. The IAEA report states that Tehran has removed 4,500 of the 19,000 active centrifuges it possesses from the Natanz and Fordow facilities. In a sense, about 10,000 more centrifuges need to be collected for Tehran to fully comply with this part of the Vienna nuclear agreement. The report also states that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium gas has increased by 460 kilograms to 8.3 tons, while under the Vienna agreement, this stockpile should be reduced to 300 kilograms. According to the agency, Iran has not yet begun the redesign of the Arak reactor. The Vienna nuclear agreement commits Iran to redesign the heavy water reactor at Arak, aimed at reducing plutonium production, which is considered an alternative to uranium in nuclear bomb production. Iran has always emphasized that it is not seeking to produce nuclear weapons.